Railroad-track clearer



P. OSGOOD.

Car-Track Clearer.

N o. 19,440. Patented Feb. 23. 1858.

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- heel and at its toe is curved upward or made UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PELATIAH OSGOOD, 0F VVATERVILLE, MAINE.

RAILROAD-TRACK CLEARER.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PELATIAH OsGooD, of Waterville, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful or Improved Railway-Track Clearer; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specication and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1, is a top view of the said clearer; Fig. 2, aside elevation of it; Fig. 3, an underside View of it; Fig. 4, is a rear side view of it.

The object of the device in question is to clear from snow or other light matters, the paths of the flanges of the wheels of a railway car, or in other words to remove snow from the inner sides of the rails of a railway in order that such may present no obstruction to the flanges of the carriage wheels which may run thereon.

My apparatus is intended to be affixed to the rear end of a railway car or engine, but it may, if desirable, be attached to the front end of it, in which case, the front truck frame of the car or engine should be provided with an addition or extension which should be suitably constructed for receiving and supporting the apparatus and permitting it to operate, as will be hereinafter described.

In the drawings,A,A',denote two plates of metal, which I term Scrapers each plate being fastened at the lower end of one of two swing bars B, B'. Each of the scrapers is formed with a notch or recess a, at its with a riding curve, as shown at b, in Fig. 2. These Scrapers are inclined in opposite directions or stand in vertical planes, which are at about a right angle to one another and so arranged, that each scraper while resting on the railway track and receiving a rail in its notch a, `may stand at an angle of about 45, to the rail. Each of the swing bars, B, B', is hinged or jointed to a single hori- Zontal bar or to two other bars, D, D, or D' D' arranged horizontally and made to turn upon a rod E, extending through them and the two lateral bars c, c, of a supporting frame F. Each two of the bars D, D', B, B', are arranged on opposite sides of one of the bars c, c, as shown in the drawings and both of the bars D, D, or D', D', are connected together at a short distance in front 19,440, dated February 23, 1858.

of their intermediate bar c, by a pin or bolt d, to which one end of achain G, is hooked, while the other end of the said chain is attached to the vertical swinging bar of the next adjacent scraper, the whole being as shown in the drawings. Each swing bar, B, or, B', besides being ointed or hinged to the bars from which it depends is also connected with them by the said chain Gr, which should be of such length as to cause the swinging bar to stand at about a right angle with each of its supporting bars. Furthermore each swinging bar should swing in a vertical plane or be capable of so turning on its supporting pin e as to carry its scraper upward toward the frame, F. Both of the swinging bars B, B', should be so connected to their supporting bars as to be capable of playing or swinging laterally a few inches, and they should be connected together by a rod, H, eX- tending through them just above their Scrapers. This rod should be fastened to one of the swinging bars and be made to play freely through the other, and to carry a helical spring g, upon it-one end of the said spring being supported against a shoulder or collar L, fixed on the rod; the other sol tending from the frame F, upward and sliding freely through the cross piece c. Each spring Z, serves not only to maintain one of the Scrapers in close proximity with or on the upper surface of a rail of the railway, but allows the scraper to use any joints or projections from the top surface of the rail or road bed immediately adjacent to the rail. In order that the Scrapers may not bear too strongly upon the rails or that their weight and momentum -may not indent the rails or injure the Scrapers, I counterbalance each scraper by means of a balancing spring I, fastened to the frame F, and extending under and upholding a stirrup o, which embraces and supports the two bars D, D, or D', D', of the scraper.

The object of hingino' the Swing bars B, B to their supporting 2bars and connecting the Said swing bars and supporting bars by chains, as described is to enable the Scrapers to move forward when the railway car to which the apparatus may be connected may be drawn backward.

When the machine above described is drawn over a railway having snow on its track it will clear the snow from the rails and flange paths. In practice, it has been found to operate to great advantage even when the'car to which it has been attached has been running at a speed of eighteen or twenty miles per hour. The particular manner of supporting each Scraper, that is by means of the vertical and horizontal bars and their connecting chains as well as the mode of applying the Supporting bars to the frame F, causing the Scrapers to pass obstructions without difficulty and with no material danger, either of throwing the car from the rails or injuring the Scrapers.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is as follows:

l. I claim the mode of supporting each scraper, viz.,by a chain or its equivalent, the swinging bar B, or B', and the horizontal bar or bars thereof connected with the frame F, substantially as Specified.

2. I also claim combining with each scraper supporter made as described a balancing Spring I, or equivalent device, and a pressure spring Z, to operate in manner and for the purpose specified.

3. I also claim the particular mode of making each scraper, viz., with a clearing notch at its heel and a riding curve at its toe or inner end.

4. I also claim applying the swing bars of the Scrapers to their supportingV bars so that the former may have a lateral Swing or play and connecting the two swing bars substantially as Specied, viz., by a rod and spring or equivalent devices, the whole being in order that the Scrapers while being drawn over the track may be preserved in close contact with the inner edges of its rails and pass obstructions however the distance between the rails may vary.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature.

PELATIAH OSGOOD. Witnesses:

E. N. FLAGG, A. HAYFORD. 

